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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27621257">Furs and Family</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmmoKnotKnot7/pseuds/AmmoKnotKnot7'>AmmoKnotKnot7</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Stanning Sokka Week 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Badass Katara (Avatar), Brotp, Canon Compliant, Councilman Sokka (Avatar), Established Relationship, Family Fluff, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Fluff, Gaang (Avatar) as Family, Gen, Marriage Proposal, One Shot, POV Sokka (Avatar), Post-Canon, Post-War, Precious Aang (Avatar), Republic City, Reunions, Sokka (Avatar)-centric, Sokka Week 2020, Zukka are husbands, everyone is in love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:15:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,352</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27621257</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmmoKnotKnot7/pseuds/AmmoKnotKnot7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 7 – <b>reunions</b> | shopping</p><p>There’s an orange blur in the sky, and it is that suspended moment of free fall when you know you’re about to get really hurt but there’s no avoiding it.   </p><p>Sokka’s heart tries to catapult itself out of his body but gets stuck in his throat, the briefest flash of panic lights his every nerve ending, and a full-grown man slams into his front with an airbended force that finally dislodges his heart and propels it somewhere in the vicinity of the moon. The world tilts as the collision pulls the ground under his feet, and the very wind solidifies under him to push him upright.   </p><p>Aang’s bright laughter and Momo’s chirping overlap as light and sound become real things again.   </p><p>“Sokka! It’s so good to see you again!”  </p><p>“Aang,” wheeze, “you,” pant, “need,” huff, “to stop <i>doing</i> that!”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang &amp; Sokka (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara &amp; Sokka (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Stanning Sokka Week 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994821</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>205</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Legends of Kolor (A collection of ATLA and LOK fics written by POC)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Furs and Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>yes i am indeed very very late for day 7</p><p>in my defense, my grandfather got diagnosed with leukemia that day and things have been quite hectic since </p><p>plus i realized that i wasn't feeling what i'd had pre-written for this day, and had to start from scratch</p><p>i was determined to finish this and i'm quite happy with the result, so hopefully i can be forgiven for being more than ten days late</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There’s an orange blur in the sky, and it is that suspended moment of free fall when you know you’re about to get really hurt but there’s no avoiding it.   </p><p>Sokka’s heart tries to catapult itself out of his body but gets stuck in his throat, the briefest flash of panic lights his every nerve ending, and a full-grown man slams into his front with an airbended force that finally dislodges his heart and propels it somewhere in the vicinity of the moon. The world tilts as the collision pulls the ground under his feet, and the very wind solidifies under him to push him upright.   </p><p>Aang’s bright laughter and Momo’s chirping overlap as light and sound become real things again.   </p><p>“Sokka! It’s so good to see you again!”  </p><p>“Aang,” wheeze, “you,” pant, “need,” huff, “to stop <em> doing </em> that!”  </p><p>Sokka is bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to find the connection between his brain and his limbs. Their ship hasn’t even docked yet, and he should be helping with the sails and knots, but unfortunately, Aang is not affected by such trivial things as a few feet of water between where he was waiting on the pier and Sokka standing on the deck.   </p><p>Momo flies over to perch on Sokka’s head. Tiredly, he raises an arm to pet him. “Hey, Momo,” he says, “you taking good care of the Avatar?”  </p><p>The Avatar is question giggles. “Sorry, Sokka,” he says, not sounding sorry at all, “I just got excited. Did you get-”  </p><p>“Yes,” Sokka interrupts loudly, glancing about the deck, “I got.”  </p><p>Luckily, Aang picks up on his emphatic gestures and claps his hands over his mouth. Not discreet at all, but he’ll take it.   </p><p>They help with tying the ship up and lowering the gangplank, not that Aang uses it, and with a quick goodbye, they’re headed off.  </p><p>Aang catches him up on the less official goings-on in Republic City that didn’t get included in his weekly updates as Councilman. As they make their way to his quarters, Sokka allows himself a private grin. Aang only knows that he got the scrolls from the Fire Nation and picked up materials from the Western Air Temple. He has no idea what's actually coming.  </p><p>He convinces Aang that they need to take a detour to the night bazaar, claiming he’s missed Republic City nightlife just too much. Most of the activity and hotspots are clustered quite close to the council, and consequently Sokka’s home.   </p><p>They spend a bustling half hour or so, exploring the new stuff that has cropped up and returning to their tried and tested favorites. Sokka steers them into the theater costume store he comes to often enough to know the staff schedule. Zuko has recently gotten obsessed with a play about a waterfall spirit called Enko, which Sokka is pretty sure is supposed to be a metaphor for gender fluidity. While he speaks with Yara about getting Enko’s headdress custom made, Aang manages to fish out a huge bright orange curly wig. Sokka comments on how it complements his robes perfectly, and it devolves into a ridiculous dress-up session.  </p><p>An Earth Kingdom style crown, two horrible fake moustaches and several pairs of impractical high heels later, they stumble out of the shop, giggling and giddy. Sokka had really missed the stupid monk.   </p><p>By the time they near the council chambers and connected quarters, Sokka is sure his crew has had the time to set it all up. They push into his living room and,   </p><p>“Surprise!”  </p><p>All his furniture has been pushed to the walls to make space for one (1) wooden spinning wheel mounted with airbending-powered spindles, and one (1) slightly larger weaving loom with a Sokka-designed shuttle (optimized for speed).   </p><p>He’s never seen Aang look quite so blindsided. He is slack-jawed and wide-eyed, pure shock writ over his features, which makes Sokka feel very vindicated since it’s exactly what he’d expected when setting this whole thing up.  </p><p>Then Aang looks at him, and the warmth pooling in his eyes drives all the breath out of Sokka in a punch. That... was not expected.   </p><p>He blames that for not being prepared for what happened next.   </p><p>Aang essentially jumps on him, and if every time he forgets how heavy he actually is, this time he must believe he truly is as light as the air he’s floating on.   </p><p>“Sokka!” he shouts after they’ve crumpled in a heap on the floor.   </p><p>Sokka groans. “You’re supposed to give the warning before, Aang, we’ve talked about this.”  </p><p>Aang laughs, a bright high sound, and rights them easily. “I thought you were getting the scrolls,” he exclaims, delighted.  </p><p>Sokka smiles wryly, still recovering. “I mean, I have the scrolls too if you’d prefer them.”  </p><p>Aang spins to walk to the Airbender relics Sokka tried to replicate as closely as possible. Crouches to examine them closely. “Did you, make them?”  </p><p>“Yeah, got what materials I could salvage from the air temple.” Sokka lets him circle both before asking, “Are they even a little accurate?”  </p><p>Aang straightens, beaming. “Yes!” A pause. “Well. I think so.” His face falls slightly, and Sokka’s heart drops with it.   </p><p>Stalking over, he plants a firm arm over Aang’s shoulders, allows himself a brief moment of annoyance as always over the fact that he’s taller than Sokka, and pulls him in closer. “We’ll figure it out together. Appa, Aang and Sokka are going on an adventure tomorrow.”  </p><p>Momo chirps indignantly from Aang’s shoulder. They laugh. “Sorry Momo, you too.”  </p><hr/><p>Sokka is cold. Sokka is drenched. Sokka is sore. Sokka’s vision is filled with a wall of white fur, and he can’t hear anything over his own chattering teeth.  </p><p>Sokka is convinced this is the worst idea Aang has ever had.   </p><p>And he’s had some truly terrible ones, over the years.   </p><p>“Why is it,” he calls out in a shaking voice, hoping it crosses the veritable mountain that is Appa, “that every time one of you wants to experiment with your stupid magic bending, I end up the victim?”  </p><p>“Sorry, Sokka,” comes Aang’s disembodied distant voice. “But I think we’re making progress!”  </p><p>Grumbling, Sokka jumps off the stool he’s been standing on and shuts off the tap connected to the pipe in his hand. He needs a fucking break.   </p><p>He walks around Appa to watch Aang waterbend the last of the runoff into the river while separating and drying off the fur Appa was shedding and airbending it into a neat pile next to him.   </p><p>A pile that wasn’t remotely big enough for the hours of work they’d been putting in. Sokka studies their pitiful results with crossed arms, as Aang finishes up and joins him, bending the water off his clothes and skin.  </p><p>“And you’re absolutely sure this is the only thing you want to do?”  </p><p>It’s not the first time in the day he’s asked that. Aang doesn’t even grace him with a sigh.   </p><p>“No harm in trying, Sokka.”  </p><p>“Yes, harm!” Sokka shrieks, indicating, well, all of himself. “Harm to Sokka. In case you haven’t noticed, I am not in fact made of unlimited stamina and avatar powers.”  </p><p>Aang brightens. “Well maybe we should take a break. Have you tried the new komodo rhino stalls? We approved the import a few weeks ago.”  </p><p>Sokka knows exactly what he’s doing.   </p><p>It still works.   </p><p>What? Komodo rhino is tempting on a good day. This has decidedly not been that.   </p><p>They return to their assigned workspace with sticks laden with meat in Sokka’s hands and a bowl of spicy puffed rice in Aang’s. He’s certainly feeling a lot more agreeable, but one look at that blasted stool and pipe combo sends a chill shivering through him.   </p><p>As they eat, he casually drops in, “We should work on the next step now, I think. See if we can actually spin anything before we strip Appa bare and have nothing to show for it.”  </p><p>Aang chuckles. “Appa can’t go bald, Sokka.”  </p><p>  </p><p>The attempt at spinning threads doesn’t go much better.  </p><p>“Can you make it faster? Try faster.”  </p><p>“Faster is just making it break quicker Sokka. You should add more fur.”  </p><p>“There isn’t any more fur. And it won’t fit anyway.”  </p><p>“Wait, look. That’s something!”  </p><p>…  </p><p>“ARGH! I thought you were supposed to know how this works.”  </p><p>“Yes, I was<em> supposed </em> to.”  </p><p>The sheer bitterness in Aang’s voice makes Sokka pause. Aang only seems to realize what he said when he spots Sokka’s face, and deflates entirely. They plop down right in the mess of twisted up fibers that aren’t quit threads.   </p><p>“We’ll figure it out, Aang,” Sokka says, trying for optimism. “Maybe there’s something we missed in the scrolls, or-”  </p><p>“Sokka,” Aang interrupts. He shakes his head, smiling that soft accepting diplomatic Avatar smile. Sometimes Sokka really hates that smile. “It’s fine,” he continues. “There are many betrothal gifts that would work just as well instead. Thank you for trying all this for me.”  </p><p>No. No. Sokka refuses. There has to be something, there must be-  </p><p>He lights up.   </p><p>“Can’t you ask one of the other Air Nomad avatars?”  </p><p>Aang blinks blankly at him for a moment. “I- what?”  </p><p>Sokka flaps an impatient hand at him. “Can’t you do that tattoo glowy thing and ask some avatar who would know? Who was the last Air cycle one, Yangchen?”  </p><p>“That’s not- I can’t just- That's not how the Avatar state works, Sokka.”  </p><p>Sokka crosses his arms. “How do you know? Have you ever tried?”  </p><p>“I- No, but-”  </p><p>Sokka has had enough. He reaches over and shuts Aang’s mouth with one hand, and closes his eyes with the other. “Shhh. So try.”  </p><p>Aang huffs and shakes his hands off, but settles to meditate anyway. Sokka grins.   </p><p>Another crisis averted using the Sokka special brand of problem-solving.   </p><p>  </p><p>It ends up being not quite so straight forward. They have a few false starts and try experimenting with different clothes and artifacts that might make it easier for Aang to connect to his previous lives.   </p><p>But they’re able to manage enough to start getting usable threads, even if the sun is close to setting, so Sokka counts it as a win.   </p><p>The next day Sokka is preparing to leave, Aang weaving away at the loom. This step was easier because Sokka was more familiar with the process. Aang would need to give Appa another bath today, before his gift would be properly ready, but he’s set for the next few hours.   </p><p>“You sure you don’t wanna come along?” he asks.  </p><p>“Mhm,” Aang nods, adjusting the warp for the shuttle’s next pass. “You guys should enjoy, it’s been a while since you got to hang out. I know she misses you.”  </p><p>It’s a sweet sentiment. Sokka doesn’t want to coo, so he scoffs instead. “You’re just using me to keep her out of your hair,” he says, rubbing the polished head with a distinct lack of said hair. Aang laughs and ducks away. “That too,” he agrees easily.   </p><p>Grinning, Sokka leaves to go receive his sister at the docks.   </p><hr/><p>He should have known. He really should have known, this was entirely on Sokka for not getting there earlier.  </p><p>He wasn’t about to let that stop him, though.   </p><p>“So you’ve moved on to stealing in broad daylight, then? I swear to the spirits, I leave you alone for one month-”  </p><p>Katara isn’t facing him, at the head of their little (stolen) boat. He still knows she just rolled her eyes. “It’s not stealing, I just borrowed it. If anything, I'm doing him a favor by giving him a break.”  </p><p>“Oh suure, yeah, totally,” Sokka laughs. “That man is absolutely resting right now, not at all frantically waiting for us to return his one source of income.”  </p><p>“Go drown in a puddle Sokka,” Katara snaps, sounding slightly breathless. It probably took a lot of effort to bend the ocean under them so that they were rushing towards Air Temple at speeds the poor motor on their ‘borrowed’ boat could never have matched.   </p><p>He had reached the docks to find Katara already off her ship and convincing (read: bullying) the poor owner of this boat into giving it to her for a few hours. And sure, she was going to pay him double for it, but Sokka saw the worry in the man’s eyes.  </p><p>“That’s very unbecoming language for a teacher, ‘Tara, you’ve got to start setting a better example.”  </p><p>A stream of water rises out of the ocean and smacks his head. “Ow,” he shrieks. It’s really unfair that she can do that even while moving their boat at a frightening rate.   </p><p>Revenge sufficiently enacted, Katara’s eyes light up as she talks about her newest project. Ever since they had first begun working on a concept of a United Nations, women from the North Pole had been their most intrigued demographic. Even though Pakku had allowed Katara to learn combative waterbending, when they visited after the war, not a lot had actually changed in terms of the status quo. Katara had spent the last few years not only protesting for rights for everyone but also convincing women they deserved to get to learn whatever they felt like in the first place. And men, too, after she realized it worked both ways and they were not allowed to learn to heal either.   </p><p>And it had all come to a head a few months ago, when they set up the Water Tribe cultural centers in Republic City and a group of emigrating Northern tribeswomen approached Katara for lessons.   </p><p>It had been like his sister had found her purpose. Sokka tries not to think too hard about it otherwise he’d get choked up. Again.   </p><p>“And, in return, they’ve been teaching me more complex forms of healing bending, as well! There really is a lot more to it than the stuff I can do. I think we could eventually expand the school for people who want to learn to heal, too,” Katara finishes as the island’s docks approach them rapidly. Sokka takes over tying the boat up as Katara and the Air Acolytes that greeted them unload her luggage. </p><p>Sokka completes his assigned task of distract Katara successfully. They have a pleasant lunch and evening together. Aang was right, it had indeed been a while since it had been just the two of them.  </p><p>As the sun begins to dip, he tells Katara she must be tired from her travels and makes her return to Air Temple Island, quickly rushing to his quarters to check on Aang’s progress.  </p><p> </p><p>It is something breathtaking.  </p><p> </p><p>Somehow, in the hours Sokka has been away, Aang managed to weave in the Water Tribe and Air Nomad symbols together in brown on the pure white background. When he reaches out to take it from a sheepish Aang, the shawl melts into his fingers. It feels like water silkily passing over his skin, only dry. Which is, truly very fitting for the two of them.  </p><p>Sokka turns his awed face at the little monk who’s actually not all that little anymore. “Buddy,” he gasps out, “I have no idea how you pulled this off.” </p><p>Aang is imperceptibly bouncing on the balls of his feet, like he wants to jump away into the air any moment. “You like it?” </p><p>“It’s beautiful,” Sokka whispers with all the sincerity he can muster, turning his gaze at the creation once again. </p><p>Suddenly it becomes all too real, rushing into his chest like the tides, cresting into a lump in his throat and a wet haze clinging to his eyelashes.  </p><p>“I guess I better get started on her marriage bead, huh?” he says, softly and a little wetly, reaching up to the end of the loose braid hanging from his left temple, twisting his own bead that Katara had made when he got married.  </p><p>Aang chuckles, crouching down next to Sokka. “You still have some time. We probably have to do a lot of preparations, if she even says yes-” </p><p>“Aang,” Sokka interrupts, laughing a little. “She’s going to say yes. You guys have been it for each other ever since you took her penguin sledding.” </p><p>A warm expression that Sokka has the urge to compare to honey flits across his features. “I guess so,” he says, breathlessly.  </p><p>Sokka slaps his hand into Aang’s back, hard enough to echo in the room but not to actually disbalance him. “Go get ‘em, buddy. We’ll be waiting.” </p><p>“Way to not put pressure Sokka, thanks.” </p><p>Sokka is inexplicably proud of the sarcasm. Then Aang ruins it by grinning widely and flying up to his feet with a gust of wind. “Really, thank you for everything Sokka! I can’t wait any longer, I’ll see you later. Wish me luck!” </p><p>Sokka huffs a small laugh, watching the Avatar zoom around the room collecting everything he needs as he rambles. “You don’t need it. Like, truly, you don’t.” </p><p>Aang smiles so wide he thinks he can see all his teeth, and crushes Sokka in a smothering hug for way too many seconds, then runs out with a rushed bye before Sokka has properly caught his breath.  </p><p>It’s kind of perfect. </p><hr/><p> “Zuko!”  </p><p>Sokka is running, his face hurts from hard he’s smiling, and his voice is definitely too loud in the crowded pier, but he doesn’t care, he doesn’t care because that’s his husband who’s vaulting over the side of ship, entirely ignoring the gangplank being lowered exactly as Sokka knew he would, and they’re slamming into each other with something that feels an awful lot like gravity.  </p><p>He clings to the warm <em> warm </em>  familiar body in his arms, his heart beating out of his chest like it's trying to get to Zuko directly. He smells salt and sea and woodsmoke and whatever fancy- schmancy  laundry soap they use in the royal palace and his husband’s floral shampoo and underneath it all  <em> Zuko </em>. He sees nothing because he feels so much his eyes closed under sheer overload. He squeezes even harder, worried for the barest of moments before Zuko shifts and squeezes back just as tight.  </p><p>His skin wants to meld itself to Zuko’s and he’s choking with the force of it all but it’s Zuko who says it first.  </p><p>“I missed you,” whispered into the skin of his neck, just for them. Sokka’s arms flex even more at the words, till he finally leans the barest amount required to look Zuko in the eyes. Beautiful glowing fire gold eyes. Lifts his hands to hold his face, Sokka’s precious heart. “I missed you too, fire lily.” Right against his lips, with borrowed breath, because he is all Zuko’s entirely. They meet, lips and chests and hands and breath and heartbeat, and Sokka is home.  </p><p>Only when the world forces itself back in his awareness and they must untangle, do other things begin to take space in his mind again.  </p><p>“Has it happened?” Zuko asks, excitement lighting all his features. Sokka chuckles lowly. “I sent him to her about an hour ago, so I’d say we’re about to find out soon enough.” </p><p>They meet Toph and Suki in the restaurant designated for the evening’s celebration, and it’s not much of a wait after that.  </p><p>Katara appears at the entrance of their sectioned-off area with a soft smile and a softer shawl over her shoulders. Toph must have known they’d been coming for a while, Suki gasps, Zuko pushes out his chair, but Sokka gets there first, surging to lift her up and spinning around. Katara’s delighted laughter rings out, bouncing off the walls and magnifying, as though granting everyone with a piece of their joy. Zuko hugs Aang and the story get told in excited interrupted fragments as embraces get passed around and they settle in a heap together.  </p><p>They have felt loss and fear and pain and sacrificed their childhoods for a war, but this night is the real victory. This night, the very walls of that room are saturated with the love that blooms and warms and fills the tiny bubble the friends have formed for themselves. This is what it was all for.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i love the sokka and aang friendship so much, can you tell</p><p>everyone is happy! it's over!<br/>phew</p><p>lemme know what you thought<br/><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/omni-flex">Tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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